CHAPTER 2
LECTURE 4
Remember, then, that in the past [and] in the realm of flesh you, the Gentiles—called The Uncircumcision by those who call themselves The Circumcision, that handmade operation in the realm of flesh— [Remember] that at that time you were apart form the Messiah, excluded from the citizenship of Israel, strangers to the covenants based upon promise. In this world you were bare of hope and without God. But now you are [included] in the realm of the Messiah Jesus. Through the blood of the Messiah you who in the past stood far off have been brought near.
11 For which cause be mindful that you, being heretofore Gentiles in the flesh, who are called uncircumcision by that which is called circumcision in the flesh, made by hands;
12 That you were at that time without Christ, being aliens from Israel’s way of life and strangers to the testaments, having no hope of the promise and without God in this world.
13 But now in Christ Jesus, you, who some time were afar off, are made nigh by the blood of Christ.
Once he has outlined God’s blessing to the Gentiles in freeing them from sin (2:1), the Apostle recalls the favor shown them in their liberation from the state of paganism. Concerning this he does two things:
First, he recounts the condition of their former state.
Secondly, he describes the blessings granted them in their present state (2:13).
He does two things about the first:
First, he prefaces the recollections of their past state with an exhortation.
Secondly, be discusses the condition of the past state itself (2:11b).
Thus he says For which cause , that you might advert to the fact that everything comes to us by God’s grace, be mindful: “Remember and do not forget how you provoked Yahweh your God in the dessert” (Deut 9:7). “That you may remember the day of your coming out of Egypt, all the days of your life” (Deut 16:3).
When he states that you, being heretofore Gentiles he recounts, in the second place, the condition of their past state:
First, as regards the evils they endured.
Secondly, as regards the goods of which they were deprived (2:12).
In reference to the first he exposes three evils. First was the crime of paganism, by which they were accustomed to worship idols; this he implies in that you being heretofore Gentiles . “You know that when you were heathens, you went to dumb idols according as you were led” (1 Cor 12:2). Some books have “You who were Gentiles” and omit everything until “But now in Christ Jesus...” (v. 13). Secondly, he discusses their carnal way of life, saying in the flesh , that is, living lustfully. “And they who are in the flesh cannot please God” (Rom 8:8). Thirdly, he speaks of the repugnance and contempt with which the Jews despised them. Hence he mentions who are called uncircumcision by that type of circumcision which is called circumcision in the flesh as the circumcised Jews performed this circumcision. He says made by hands to distinguish it from the spiritual circumcision spoken of in Colossians 2 (11-13): “In whom [Christ] you also were circumcised with a circumcision not hand-made, by putting off the body of the flesh, but in the circumcision of Christ, buried with him in baptism... And when you were dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, he has brought you to life together with him, forgiving you all offenses.”
Next (v. 12), he recounts the good things of which they were deprived:
Secondly, from a knowledge of God, at and without God in this world (v. 12).
Regarding the first he sets down three sacraments they were deprived of sharing in. They were, first of all, without the fundamental truth of Christ; whence he affirms that you were at that time without Christ, without the promise of a Christ as was made to the Jews. “I will raise up for David a just branch; and a king shall reign and shall be wise” (Jer 23:5). “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Sion, shout for joy, O daughter of Jerusalem: See, your King is coming to you, triumphant and victorious” (Zech 9:9).
They were deprived, in the second place, from the society of the saints as long as they remained in paganism. He says they were aliens from Israel’s way of life , since the Jews were not permitted to mix with the Gentiles. “You shall not make any league with them, nor show them mercy. Neither shall you make marriages with them” (Deut 7:2-3). “Jews do not communicate with Samaritans” (Jn 4:9). With respect to those who—not without contempt—were accepted into Judaism when they became proselytes he adds and strangers to the testaments . As though he asserted: These converts, when they went over to Judaism and became proselytes, were accepted to partake of God’s covenants as strangers rather than as citizens. He says testaments in the plural * since the Old Testament was offered the Jews and the New was promised. “The Lord made his covenant rest upon the head of Jacob” (Sir 44:25) can be understood of the Old Testament. God promised to give them another covenant: “And I will make an everlasting covenant with them” (Bar 2:35). This latter was granted to those “to whom belong the adoption as children, the glory and the giving of the Law” (Rom 9:4).
He also sets down another blessing of which they were deprived: the hope of future goods, when he says having no hope of the promise since “To Abraham were the promises made and to his seed” (Gal 3:16).
Finally, he writes of the greatest injury from which they suffered, ignorance of God. And without God in this world means without the knowledge of God. “God has shown himself in Judah” (Ps 76:2), but not among the Gentiles: “Not in the passion of lust, like the Gentiles that do not know God” (1 Thes 4:5). This must be understood of the knowledge obtainable through faith, for Romans 1 (21) speaks of their natural knowledge: “Although they knew God, they did not glorified him as God or give him thanks.”
After this he recalls the blessings offered them through Christ in their [present] condition after conversion. Concerning this he does two things:
First, he shows how they were made partakers of the goods previously denied them.
Secondly, he shows that their participation in those goods is not that of strangers but of citizens (2:19).
The first part again has two sections:
First, he depicts these blessings in a general way.
Secondly, he specifies them (2:14).
With respect to the first: I have mentioned that in former times you were without Christ, alienated from Israel’s way of life. But now , after you have been converted to Christ, you are in Christ Jesus , intimately united to him through faith and love. “He who remains in love remains in God, and God in him” (1 Jn 4:16). “For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything, but a new creature” (Gal 6:15).
You, I say, who some time were afar off, severed from God, not by space but by what you deserved, because it is said: “Keep distant from the wicked your salvation” (Ps 119:155), as well as association with the saints and a share in the covenants, as has already been said. Now you are made near to God and to his saints and covenants. “Your sons shall come from afar and your daughters shall be carried in arms” (Is 60:4). “For some of them,” namely, the Gentiles, “have come from far away” (Mk 8:3), from the land of distortion * and the state of paganism. Yet now you are made near by the blood of Christ, that is, through his blood by which Christ draws you: “And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all things to myself” (Is 12:32). This was on account of his vehement love which most forcefully revealed itself in the death of the cross. “I have loved you with an everlasting love. Therefore have I maintained my faithful love for you” (Jer 31:3).